Danielle Paquette named West Africa bureau chief

We’re thrilled to announce that Danielle Paquette, a Financial reporter since 2014, will become West Africa bureau chief, a new role created as part of The Post’s international expansion.

Danielle has dazzled us with her ability to spot surprising stories and tell them in riveting ways. During 10 weeks in China last summer, she took charge of the bureau’s trade war coverage while also delivering a steady stream of original pieces that helped our readers understand China in new ways. It was through Danielle’s eyes that we met a pig feet merchant worried about U.S. tariffs, the fake-bag sellers who hoped to exploit them, and a lonely factory worker surrounded by robots. Danielle also told us something surprising about the legacy of China’s one-child policy by introducing readers to a dog who lived in his own mansion.

Her work for Financial has been just has memorable, including her recent unearthing of job-hopping workers who have begun “ghosting” their employers when better opportunities turn up. Her work on sexual harassment led to the resignation of the Humane Society’s top leader, and she provided our first look at the allegations against celebrity chef Mike Isabella, which led to the end of his restaurant empire.

In moving to West Africa, Danielle will bring her fresh eye and quick learning to a job that demands both. We expect that she will be based in Dakar, Senegal, a jumping-off place for coverage of Nigeria and more than a dozen other countries across one of the world’s fast-growing and most volatile regions. She will move to West Africa this spring, providing welcome reinforcement for the peripatetic Max Bearak, our courageous and talented Nairobi bureau chief, who has been shouldering responsibility for most of the African continent.

Danielle grew up in Indiana and is a graduate of Indiana University. Before joining The Post, she was a reporter at the Tampa Bay Times and a freelance writer in Los Angeles. She has spent years studying French, and will devote further time to language study and other preparations before opening the new bureau in May.